Black History Month 2022 | Body
For this year’s Black History Month theme, we turn our attention to the importance of health and wellness in the Black community, and honor the legacy of Black scholars, medical practitioners, and wellness experts. Each week in February, a new facet of Black health and wellness will be highlighted to showcase Black-owned businesses, organizations, and grassroots efforts whose goal is to lift up the mind, body, spirit, and community of Black people everywhere.
This week’s highlight focuses on the body by centering the physical self. These resources and services offer holistic approaches to health and wellness in the Black community by offering space for collective healing, life-long wellness practices, and youth empowerment through movement and mentorship.
Preventative Care
According to Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, "African American women face both disproportionate exposure to breast carcinogens and the highest risk of serious health impacts from the disease." In great efforts to address and alleviate this disproportion, the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force in partnership with area hospitals offer cost-free mammograms for those uninsured in the Chicagoland area.
Follow on Instagram: @sistersnetworkchichapter
Chicago Birthworks Collective
Birth is a sacred process that takes courage and strength. For Black women and birthing people who have historically been overlooked by medical systems, it’s also a process that requires meticulous care, protection and support. Chicago Birthworks Collective is a group of birth experience professionals taking a holistic approach to offering Black families support, from prenatal to postpartum.
Follow on Instagram: @chicagobirthworksco
The Bloc
The Bloc is a nonprofit boxing team in Chicago that enriches and empowers the lives of marginalized youths by offering mentoring and tutoring programs at no cost. Through academic services and explorational learning as well as fulfilling physical training in boxing, The Bloc has succeeded in raising high school graduation rates, college acceptance rates, and average GPAs of their students.
Follow on Instagram: @theblocchicago
Find a Black Doctor
BDO, a leading health and wellness destination for people of color, helps connect patients with a culturally sensitive doctor. According BDO, research finds that having a Black doctor results in a reduction in pain and anxiety for Black patients. Additionally, Black men seen by Black doctors agreed to more preventative care services, and increased screening by a more diverse doctor workforce increases life expectancy among Black patients.
Follow on Instagram: @blackdoctororg
Bettye O Day Spa
In 1978 Bettye Odom introduced the concept of total skin care to the Black community of Chicago after her return from studying in Paris, France. Today, Bettye O Day Spa is one of Hyde Park’s go-to destinations for first-class spa and beauty treatments, as well as products that address skin care concerns for people of color.
Follow on Instagram: @bettyeodayspa
Check back all month long for more upcoming installments in this series on Black health and wellness.
Be sure to follow and support the organizations and resources we have highlighted in this series in addition to staying engaged and educated on Black history and current events all year long.